U.S. patent number 7,333,629 [Application Number 11/227,382] was granted by the patent office on 2008-02-19 for authentic document and method of making.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. Invention is credited to Robert C. Bryant, Chris W. Honsinger, David L. Patton.
United States Patent |
7,333,629 |
Patton , et al. |
February 19, 2008 |
Authentic document and method of making
Abstract
A method and system is disclosed for printing an authenticatable
image having an embedded image into a receiver having a discernible
physical characteristic, such that the printed image can be used to
authenticate the receiver which includes scanning the receiver to
produce information related to the discernible physical
characteristic of the receiver, and providing a carrier which
includes information related to the scanned receiver discernible
physical characteristic. The method also includes combining the
carrier with an input image to form the authenticatable image
having the embedded image, and printing the authenticatable image
having the embedded image onto the receiver.
Inventors: |
Patton; David L. (Webster,
NY), Honsinger; Chris W. (Ontario, NY), Bryant; Robert
C. (Honeoye Falls, NY) |
Assignee: |
Eastman Kodak Company
(Rochester, NY)
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Family
ID: |
25459623 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/227,382 |
Filed: |
September 15, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20060008115 A1 |
Jan 12, 2006 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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09930696 |
Aug 15, 2001 |
6973196 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
382/100; 428/916;
340/5.86 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07D
7/004 (20130101); H04N 1/32133 (20130101); H04N
2201/3233 (20130101); H04N 2201/3271 (20130101); Y10S
428/916 (20130101); H04N 2201/3269 (20130101); H04N
2201/3236 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
D21H
27/02 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;283/72,17 ;340/5.86
;380/55 ;428/32.1,32.18,543,916 ;503/201 ;D19/1,5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Johns; Andrew W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Strouse; Thomas J.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/930,696 filed
Aug. 15, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,196, entitled AUTHENTIC
DOCUMENT AND METHOD OF MAKING by David L. Patton et al.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A kit for making an authenticable original document comprising:
at least one sheet of media having a physical indicia identifier
formed thereon and a identification number printed on said sheet of
media; a memory storage device have a digital file of a high
resolution scan of said physical indicia identifier stored thereon,
said physical indicia identifier being associated with said
identification number.
2. The kit according to claim 1 wherein said memory storage device
comprises an URL address that can be accessed over a communication
network.
3. The kit according to claim 2 wherein said URL address comprises
a web site accessible over the internet.
4. The kit according to claim 1 wherein said memory storage device
comprises a CD.
5. The kit according to claim 1 wherein said identification number
is printed in a machine readable form.
6. The kit according to claim 1 wherein said identification number
is printed in a human readable form.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the field of authenticating
documents and in particular creating a print medium with an
identifying physical anomaly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An article from the Hardcopy Observer, "Pitney Postage Plan Wins
Approval, Escher Tries New Approach", Jan. 2000 announces a
technology that enhances the security of postage documents by
forming a signature of the paper fiber over a localized region and
then printing this signature elsewhere on the envelope in the form
of wavy lines.
Since the image obtained from scanning paper fiber is random, it is
very likely that no two envelopes ever have or ever will possess
the same fiber structure. Therefore, every envelope may be
considered to have a unique identifier and may be used to uniquely
identify every letter. The technique requires that the fiber
signature be printed and encoded as a series of wavy lines
elsewhere on the envelope. How the fiber signature is distilled
from the fibrous region is not disclosed. A significant advantage
of this system is that it is unlikely that a counterfeiter would
discover the process needed to duplicate this process. Simply
copying the envelope is not sufficient because modern copiers do
not copy the fibrous structure. The copier resolution is simply not
high enough. By providing an information channel directly related
to the unique aspects of the paper itself, the ability to
counterfeit is minimized.
However, the technique described above has a significant
shortcoming. The requirement is that the fibrous signature is used
as the unique identifier. The fibrous signature relies on the
construction of the paper base of the envelope. Other medium such
as photographic paper, thermal transfer, and inkjet all have
different surface characteristics. In some cases these media do not
have a paper base or a paper base that is close to the surface
where the fiber structure is available for scanning. These media
generally have a receiver layer constructed using a polymeric
material. The polymeric materials used to form the receiving layer
cover the paper base obscuring the fibers. The fibers themselves
are susceptible to damage from outside elements such as water,
abrasion, etc. In addition the technique does not provide a
separate record in the form of a digital file of the scan of the
envelope's fiber or link that file back to the envelope.
Verification Technologies, Inc. discloses on their Website at
http://www.netventure.com/vti/isis/main.htm a method for
identifying valuable objects by capturing a unique series of
microphotographs and a log of how they are collected. The
microphotographs are then used to verify the authenticity of the
objects.
In each of the cases cited the feature being scanned or
photographed already exists as a part of the object. The features
are not purposely created during the time of manufacture for the
sole purpose of proving authenticity. Nor is any attempt made to
artificially create the mark or produce a mark that is physically
robust.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a
high-resolution scan of the physical indicia identifier creating a
unique digital representation of the physical indicia
identifier.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
cryptographically secure method for invisibly hiding (or embedding)
a message derived using a texturally derived signature from the
anomaly. In the case of printed image on the media, the need for a
visible representation of the data to authenticate an image is
eliminated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a unique
physical indicia identifier by embossing, etching or printing a
pattern on the front or back surface of a media.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
high-resolution scan of the physical indicia identifier creating a
unique digital representation of the physical indicia
identifier.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is
provided a kit for making an authenticable original document
comprising:
at least one sheet of media having a physical indicia identifier
formed thereon and an identification number printed on the sheet of
media;
a memory storage device have a digital file of a high resolution
scan of the physical indicia identifier stored thereon, the
physical indicia identifier being associated with the
identification number.
These and other aspects, objects, features, and advantages of the
present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated
from a review of the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the
invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying
drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic of a sheet of media having pre-formed
physical indicia identifier made in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating how a sheet of media
having pre-formed physical indicia identifier is made in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second embodiment of
how a sheet of media having pre-formed physical indicia identifier
is made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a partial view of FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrating how a sheet
of media having pre-formed physical indicia identifier is made in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the overall
system made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a system made in accordance with
the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the operation of the system of FIG.
6.
FIG. 8 is a completed document made using the sheet of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9A is a flow chart illustrating one method on how the document
of FIG. 8 is verified; and
FIG. 9B is a flow chart illustrating another method on how the
document of FIG. 8 is verified.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention utilizes aspects of data embedding. The science of
data embedding is also referred to as data hiding, information
hiding, data embedding, watermarking, and steganography. A data
embedding technique is disclosed in Honsinger, et al., U.S. Pat.
No. 6,044,156, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a sheet 10 for making a
document in accordance with the present invention. Sheet 10 may be
a print medium such as photosensitive, ink-jet, or thermal transfer
media uniquely fingerprinted with a physical indicia identifier 15.
The physical indicia identifier 15 is a unique physical feature
formed in the front or back surface or an integral part of the
structure of the sheet 10. For example, the physical indicia
identifier 15 can be but is not limited to an embossed, etched or
engraved indicia or a discernable physical characteristic on the
front and/or back surface of the sheet 10 and not duplicatable
using known visual copying techniques. The physical indicia
identifier 15 may or may not be visible to the unaided eye. Sheet
10 is also printed with a unique identification number 20. The
identification number 20 may be a human and/or machine-readable
code, for example an alphanumeric or a bar code.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a schematic diagram
of an apparatus for making the sheet 10 of media 41 having the
physical indicia identifier 15 and identification number 20. It is
well known to those in the art of manufacturing resin-coated media
that a resin such as polyurethane or polyethylene is heated to
above the glass transition point then applied to a base 40 such as
paper or plastic via a hopper 42. After the resin has been applied
to the base, the base is run through a set of chilled rollers 44
where the resin is evenly spread over the surface of the base 40
and hardened. The resulting base 40 can be used to manufacture
media 41 in the form of thermal, photosensitive paper or inkjet
paper. The type of media 41 being manufactured can determine
whether the physical indicia identifier 15 is formed on the front
or back surface. For example if the media 41 is of the thermal type
having a resin overcoat, the physical indicia identifier 15 may be
formed on the top surface. If the media 41 is photosensitive paper
where an emulsion is coated on a resin coated base, the physical
indicia identifier 15 may be formed on the back surface. If the
media 41 is inkjet paper, which may or may not have a resin
coating, the embossing may be used to form the physical indicia
identifier 15 on either the back or front surface. In the case
where the media 41 is manufactured in a roll 46 to roll 47 process
as shown in FIG. 2, the base 40, after the resin has been coated,
passes through a set of physical indicia identifier forming rollers
48. Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated an enlarged partial
view of FIGS. 2 and 3. The rollers 48 contain heating elements 50
similar to the heating elements used in thermal heat heads such as
those used in a KODAK ds 8650 PS Color Printer. As the media 41
passes between the rollers' heating elements 50 the heat from the
heating elements 50 form a specified three-dimensional pattern of
the physical indicia identifier 15. A logic control unit, such as
computer 45 controls the heating elements to provide successively
different physical indicias. This allows the forming of a unique
physical indicia identifier 15 for each sheet. After the physical
indicia identifier 15 is formed in the surface of the resin coating
a high-resolution scan is made via a scanner 52 and/or 54. In
addition, an identification number 20 is printed on either the
front or back surface of the media 41 via a printer 56 or a printer
58 located on the roller 48 and/or roller 49 respectively. In the
embodiment illustrated, the high resolution-scan is on the order of
1200 dots/inch. The results of the high resolution-scan are stored
in memory, for example in memory of computer 45 or on a memory
storage device such as on a CD 25 (shown in FIG. 6) via a computer
45 along with the identification number 20. The method used for
obtaining the high-resolution scan will be explained later. While
in the particular embodiment illustrated the results of the scan is
stored on a CD, it may be stored in any desired memory storage
device or location. For example, but not limited to a computer
disc, memory stick, memory card, or an internet accessible URL
address such as a web site.
FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an apparatus made in
accordance with the present invention wherein the media 41 is cut
into a plurality of cut sheets 43 each having a physical indicia
identifier 15 and identification number 20 as previously discussed.
Like numerals in FIG. 3 indicate like parts and operation as
previously discussed with respect to FIG. 2. The media 41 is fed
from the roll 46 via a set of drive rollers 55 and 57 through the
set of rollers 48 and 49. These rollers 48 and 49 contain either
heating elements 50 or embossers (not shown). As the media 41
passes between the roller 48 and 49 the embossing roller form the
specified pattern of the physical indicia identifier 15. As each
unique physical indicia identifier 15 is formed in the surface of
the media 41 the high-resolution scan is made via the scanner 52 or
54 and the identification number 20 is printed on either the front
or back surface of the media 41 via printer 56 or a printer 58.
After the physical indicia identifier 15 has been formed and the
identification number 20 printed on the media 41, the media 41 is
cut into sheets 10 via a cutter assembly 60. Each sheet 10 having
its' own distinct physical indicia identifier 15, identification
number 20, which is associated with a unique scan of the identifier
15. Typically this is accomplished by a computer associating the
scanned digital file with the identification number 20 and storing
this information in a memory device.
Referring to FIG. 5, a flow chart illustrates a method for making
an original document using sheet 10 in accordance with the present
invention. A sheet 10 is provided at step 100. The identification
number 20 is printed on sheet 10 and the physical indicia
identifier 15 is formed on the sheet 10 at steps 110 and 120
respectively. A high-resolution scan of the physical indicia
identifier 15 is made and a digital file of the high-resolution
scan is created at step 130. The digital file of the
high-resolution scan is linked to the sheet 10 via the printed
identification number 20 at step 140. The high-resolution scan
provides a unique digital file with respect to physical indicia
identifier 15. The digital file of the high-resolution scan of the
physical indicia identifier 15 is stored in memory such as written
to a CD 25 (shown in FIG. 6) at step 150 and is associated with the
unique identifier number 20. A digital file that is to be later
printed on the sheet 10 is created at step 160. In the particular
embodiment illustrated, the digital file is a text file 165,
however, the digital file may be an image file or mixture of text
and image files. For the purposes of the present invention a text
file shall mean a text file, an image file, or a combination of
text and image files. If the text file 165 is large, it may be
distilled at step 170 to a smaller representation called a
distilled digital text file 175 using hash algorithms. These
algorithms are utilized widely in computer systems. An example of a
known hash algorithm is the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) of National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). With this algorithm
it is possible to distill a large data set to 160 bits, rendering
the probability of any two documents having the same hash value
astronomically small. Modern watermarking technologies can easily
hide this amount of data.
Using the distilled digital text file 175 and an algorithm on CD 25
a message image 185 is created at step 180. Briefly, the message
image 185 is obtained taking the distilled image and scrambling it
into a predetermined pattern/template. An example of obtaining this
message image is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No.
6,044,156 both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The
message image 185 is combined with the high-resolution scan file of
the physical indicia identifier 15 at step 190. One method of
combining is convolving. An example of convolving is described in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,192 issued Aug. 2, 2005 by Chris W. Honsinger
and David L. Patton. From Fourier theory, spatial convolution of
two functions in the frequency domain is the same as adding
together the functions phases while multiplying their respective
Fourier amplitudes. Therefore, the effects of combining the message
with a carrier, such as by the described convolution technique,
distributes the message energy in accordance with the phase of the
carrier and to modulate the amplitude spectrum of the message with
the amplitude spectrum of the carrier. If the message image were a
single delta function and the carrier of random phase and of
uniform Fourier magnitude, the effect of convolving with the
carrier would be to distribute the delta function over space. The
Fourier magnitude would maintain its shape because the carrier is
of uniform amplitude spectrum. If the amplitude of the convolved
delta function is lowered in the space domain, the convolution may
be viewed as a way to redistribute energy over space in an
invisible way. The effect of convolving an arbitrary message with a
random phase carrier is to spatially disperse the message energy
over the image. In this sense, the convolution is a dispersive
process. The message image 185 combined or convolved with the high
resolution scan file of the physical indicia identifier 15 creates
a dispersed message 195 at step 190 and the dispersed message 195
along with the text 36 is printed on the sheet 10 at step 200. Due
to the convolution step only the text 36 will be seen and the
dispersed message 195 will not be seen by the unaided eye.
Referring now to FIG. 6, the sheet 10 containing the physical
indicia identifier 15 and identification number 20 is placed into a
printer 22 such as an inkjet or thermal printer. A compact disc
(CD) 25 containing the digital file of the high-resolution scan of
the physical indicia identifier 15 is placed into a computer 30.
The digital file of the high-resolution scan of the physical
indicia identifier 15 has previously been associated to the sheet
10 via the identification number 20. The high-resolution scan of
the physical indicia identifier 15 can also exist on a remote
server located at a service provider and be accessed via a
communication network such as the Internet 33. The high-resolution
scan of the physical indicia identifier 15 can also exist in any
type of memory such as a floppy disk, DVD, hard drive, portal hard
drive, etc. and delivered to the computer 30 by any appropriate
means.
Now referring to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a flow chart showing
how a user creates an original document 34 shown in FIGS. 6 and 8
made in accordance with the present invention. The user places the
sheet 10 into the printer 22 and the CD 25 into the computer 30 at
step 220. A software program in the computer 30, typically obtained
from the CD 25, asks the user for the identification number(s) 20
for the sheet(s) 10 at step 230. The user enters the identification
number 20 via a keyboard 32 (shown in FIG. 6) at step 240. If there
is more than one sheet required for printing the document, the
correct identification number 20 for each sheet placed into the
printer and the additional sheets are entered into the computer in
the order they will be printed. Using a word processor such as
Microsoft Word or Claris Works, the user creates the text file,
which is to be printed on the sheet 10 at step 250. The software
using the physical indicia identifier high-resolution scan file 15
and the digital text file creates the dispersed message at step 260
which was previously described in greater detail with respect to
steps 160, 170, 180 & 190 of FIG. 5. The digital text file 165
with the dispersed message 195 intermixed therein is printed on the
selected sheet(s) at step 270 creating only one original document
34 at step 280 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 that cannot be
counterfeited using standard duplicating methods.
Now referring to FIG. 8, there is illustrated the completed
document 34 made in accordance with the present invention. The
completed document 34 comprises the physical indicia identifier 15,
the identification number 20, the text 36, and the dispersed
message 195, which is not normally visible as it is intermixed with
the text 36.
Now referring to FIG. 9A, there is illustrated a flow chart of one
method on how a document is verified in accordance with the present
invention. A digital scan of the physical indicia identifier 15 is
made at step 285. The identification number is used to find the
previously scanned information of the physical indicia identifier
15 on CD 25 at step 290. This stored information is compared with
the information obtained by scanning of the physical indicia
identifier 15 on document at step 295. If the scanned information
regarding the physical indicia identifier 15 is the same as the
stored information the document is verified at decision block 296
as being an original at step 297, otherwise the scanned document
cannot be verified at step 298.
Referring to FIG. 9B there is illustrated a flow chart of another
method on how a document is verified in accordance with the present
invention. In this method two different techniques are used to
derive the same common data such that the common data obtained by
the two different techniques must correspond in order to verify
that the document is an original. A digital scan of the document 34
is made at step 300 and using appropriate algorithms on CD 25, the
physical indicia identifier 15, the text 36, and the dispersed
message 195 are obtained. The physical indicia identifier 15 is
located and the dispersed message 195 is obtained at step 310. By
using the data embedding and extraction algorithm described in
detail below, the physical indicia identifier 15 is processed in
the Fourier domain to maintain phase and flatten the Fourier
magnitude. This result is inverse Fourier transformed to obtain a
carrier, which is then correlated with the dispersed message 195 as
found by step 190 previously discussed in FIG. 5. The physical
indicia identifier 15 is correlated with the dispersed message 195,
and the message image 185 is recovered at step 330. Now, the
message image 185 recovered at step 330 should correspond to the
candidate message image 410 (text file) that is to be
validated.
To obtain the candidate message image 410, the text file 405 is
extracted at step 340 from the scan done at step 300. An optical
character-recognition (OCR) algorithm extracts the digital file 405
of the text at step 340. It is understood that OCR is one example
of a text recognition algorithm and there are many others that can
be used. Using the same hash algorithm, text file 405 is distilled
at step 350. This distilled text is used to create a message image
as discussed with respect to FIG. 5 to form a candidate message
image 410 at step 360. A decision of validity is made at decision
block 370 by comparing the value of the candidate message image 410
obtained at step 360 with the message image 185 recovered at step
330. If the candidate message image 410 is the same as the
recovered message image 185 recovered at step 330, the document is
validated at step 390. Otherwise the document is not validated at
step 380. As can be seen in this method two distinct techniques are
used to obtain a common data. In one method the common data is
obtained starting from the beginning of the method of FIG. 5. In
the second method using the scanned document and starting at the
end of method of FIG. 5 and working backwards, the common data is
obtained. In the embodiment illustrated the common data is the
message image, however, the common data could have been the
distilled text file. In such case after step 330, the distilled
text file could have been obtained using the appropriate algorithm.
This could have been compared with the data obtained at step 350.
All that is important is that the common data is obtained using one
method starting from the beginning and compared with the common
data is starting from the other end of the process.
The invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications can be effected within
the spirit and scope of the invention.
PARTS LIST
10 sheet 15 physical indicia identifier 20 identification number 22
printer 25 CD 30 computer 32 keyboard 33 Internet 34 document 36
text 40 base 41 media 42 hopper 43 cut sheets 44 chilled roller 45
computer 46 roll 47 roll 48 indicia identifier forming rollers 49
indicia identifier forming rollers 50 heating elements 52 scanner
54 scanner 55 drive roller 56 printer 57 drive roller 58 printer 60
cutter assembly 100 step 110 step 120 step 130 step 140 step 150
step 160 step 165 digital text file 170 step 175 distilled digital
text file 180 step 185 message image 190 step 195 dispersed message
200 step 220 step 230 step 240 step 250 step 260 step 270 step 280
step 285 step 290 step 295 step 296 decision block 297 step 298
step 300 step 310 step 320 step 330 step 340 step 350 step 360 step
370 decision block 380 step 390 step 405 digital text file 410
candidate message image
* * * * *
References